Bell Power-Up
The (also called Power-Up Bell or simply Bell in some games) is a characteristic and iconic power-up type in the TwinBee series. __TOC__ Overview Bell Power-Ups usually appear on the battlefield by shooting at clouds on the scenery that hide them or after destroying certain enemies or complete specific enemy formations. They steadily move forward –downward in the case of vertically oriented games, and to the left in the case of horizontally oriented games– until they leave the screen if not picked up in time. Each time a bell is shot by the player, it gets pushed back a little, giving the player a little breathing time to pick it up while fending off the rest of the enemies. A unique behavioral exception happens in Moero TwinBee/Stinger, a horizontal oriented game where bells and items are juggled upward when shot and that fall to the ground instead. Each bell is initially yellow-colored, and if picked up in this state, it will yield a determined amount of bonus points. However, if the bell is repeatedly shot by the player, it will eventually start changing colors, with each color representing a special power-up that is instantly granted when picked up in that state, or a greater amount of bonus points. In some games, picking up many yellow-colored bells in a row will start a bonus chain counter, with each subsequent bell giving extra bonus points. The Bell power-up system originated from the very first TwinBee game, becoming an instant staple and giving the series its own characteristic personality, which was even implemented in other Konami franchises such as the Parodius and Wai Wai series. While the Parodius series is mainly based on Gradius by prominently parodying its aesthetics and mechanics, it also borrowed the Bells power-up system from TwinBee, combining it with the iconic Power Capsules and Power Meter from Gradius, where the latter two are mainly used to upgrade the player's ship on the battlefield, while the Bells are used for obtaining temporary special abilities and bonus points. Interestingly enough, in Moero TwinBee (and its localized port, Stinger), Bell Power-Ups come in the form of rounded jingle bells instead of the standard upside-down hollow cup shape bells that appear in the rest of the games. These jingle bell-shaped versions were also reused as collectible items in Pop'n TwinBee: Rainbow Bell Adventures. Bells have also frequently appeared in Konami's Wai Wai series of mascot games, such as Konami Wai Wai World, Wai Wai World 2 and Konami Krazy Racers, where they have a similar use and where TwinBee and his friends are regular guest playable characters. In the strategy game Busou Shinki: Battle Rondo, Bells were even used as a cameo special attack when using the guns based on TwinBee and WinBee. Types Clouds '' ]] Clouds have appeared in almost all installments that conform the TwinBee series since the very first game, and same as Bell Power-Ups, they have also become a staple in the series (only excluding a few instances when the genre isn't a shooting game, such as role-playing and puzzle games). When the player shoots at a cloud, a yellow Power-Up Bell will generally pop out. Even though in the early games their design was just that of simple clouds, in later appearances they were redesigned with a smiling face upon them. Gallery Bell - Moero TwinBee - 01.png Bell - Moero TwinBee - 02.png Bell - TwinBee 3 - 01.png Bell - TwinBee 3 - 02.png Bell - TwinBee 3 - 03.png TwinBee & Bell - TwinBee 3 - 01.png TwinBee & Bell - TwinBee 3 - 02.png TwinBee & Bell - TwinBee 3 - 03.png WinBee & Bell - TwinBee 3 - 01.png WinBee & Bell - TwinBee 3 - 02.jpg Bell - Detana!! TwinBee - 01.png PPCTwinbee1.png PPCTwinbee11.png Category:Power-ups Category:Detana!! TwinBee items Category:LINE GoGo! TwinBee items Category:Moero TwinBee items Category:Parodius series Category:Pixel Puzzle Collection items Category:Pop'n TwinBee items Category:Rainbow Bell Adventures items Category:TwinBee items Category:TwinBee 3 items Category:TwinBee Da!! items Category:TwinBee Dungeon items Category:TwinBee RPG items Category:TwinBee Yahho! items Category:Wai Wai series